How To Say Goodbye
by xXSedationXx
Summary: Spring 2004; L meets the woman running the sweets shop in Aoyama. Unfortunately, she's terminally ill. LXOC First attempt at fanfiction, please R&R. M for language, adult situations, and smoking.
1. Chapter 1

**Just going to go out on a limb here and post a story I thought of. It's a trial for a book I'm currently trying to write. Please enjoy.**

**I do not own Death Note, nor any of the characters associated with Death Note.**

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**How To Say Goodbye**

"Goodnight everyone!" Matsuda called as he walked out the door of the investigation headquarters. Light followed him out the door and onto the street.

"I'll call you tomorrow to set up our plans for Aoyama." Light said as he slid into the passenger seat of his fathers car.

"Good, I'll talk to you then Light." Matsuda said as he stopped in front of the building. The car started up, and pulled out into traffic, disappearing down the street. Matsuda's cell phone then started to ring.

"I haven't even gotten out the door yet.." Matsuda groaned as he pulled his cell phone from his pocket and answered it. "Matsuda."

"Yes, I want you to watch Light while in Aoyama. And Matsuda, let's keep this between us for now." It was L.

"Alright." Matsuda answered, before hanging up his cell phone and slipping it back into his pocket. Well, this was going to be an interesting trip. Matsuda sighed thoughtfully and then started walking to the train station to catch the last train on his way home.

"Yes, this could provide something that we need…" L mused to himself as he stared out the window of the investigation headquarters at the Japanese sky line. L had already set in place cameras to watch Light and Matsuda when they where in Aoyama, so it wouldn't be hard to follow their movements. Truth be told, L was 97% positive that Light was Kira, it was just catching some slip that Light was eventually going to have. Some small sign that Light was Kira, something that would seem otherwise insignificant, but would give L what he needed to arrest and convict Light. L scratched his head, putting his own cell phone down on the night table beside his unused bed. Tired eyes stared at the blanket there, before moving to the refrigerator that would be stocked with sweets for him. Watari made sure that he always had enough sweets. In fact, come to think of it, the confectioners that Watari bought his sweets from was in Aoyama. L would have to go visit the store himself here soon, just to see what else they offered other than strawberry cake and macaroons. Sighing, L made his way back to his laptop to go over the information one more time. Even if he was 97% sure, he had to make sure that the information he had gathered up until this point also was 97% sure. L was certain that he had a long night ahead of him.

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"Serendipity Sweets! My name is Sari, may I help you with something?" The girl behind the counter said in a voice that was dripping a bit too much sweetness for before noon. It made L pause mid-step in his beat up tennis shoes and wonder what reason he was going to give for being there. He knew with certainly that he liked the strawberry cake. L made up his mind and continued to the counter.

"Ah, yes. I would like to order a strawberry cake please." The girl behind the counter, Sari, nodded, jotting down the characters for strawberry cake on a note pad.

"And may I have your name and telephone number please so that I may call you when it is done?" Sari smiled brightly at L, pen poised above the note pad, waiting.

"Ryuuzaki. And I do not have a phone. Do you know how long it will be? I can come back if you have an idea.." L hesitated a moment, unusual for him. Sari was very pretty, and saccharine sweet, even for him, and above all else, he could smell her body spray above the smell of sweets. Banana and coconut, some tropical blend that made her seem all the more sweet.

"Ahh, if I get started now, I could be done in about two hours. Enough time to bake the cake and cool, and frost it. And do you want the strawberries cut fancy, or is just strawberry slices alright?" Sari wrote Ryuuzaki down on the note pad, and then slipped the note into her apron. L noticed there was no one else in the store, customer or employee. He looked around the glass counters at the displays of different cakes and cookies.

"You run the store alone?" L asked, but he already knew the answer. Several months ago when he and Watari arrived in Japan, they had chosen the Serendipity Sweets store because it was owned by a young girl who lost her parents several years ago. L had checked out all the stores in the area, knowing that there would be several transactions done there, and so he wanted to make sure before time that none of the stores where being run by Kira. Sari Wantanabe. 24 years old. Only child of Michael Wantanabe and Elaine Waters. She was a quarter Japanese, like him, and a quarter Irish. The rest was negligible to heritage. Michael and Elaine had died several years ago in a car accident, Sari had been the only survivor and twelve at the time. She finished school as a ward of the state and then was turned out on her own at eighteen. Since then she had been to culinary school and started her own business. Five years ago she had been diagnosed with Machado Joseph disease, and while she seemed fine now, L knew she could deteriorate rapidly in a matter of days, since typically the disease killed anywhere from 6 to 29 years after on set symptoms. The store was her only lively-hood, no medical insurance to speak of, and so it was all the more important to support the store by buying exclusively there.

"Yeah. I've always been good at baking, and so it seemed logical. It started out really small, just baking for friends in college and then eventually it grew into this. And having the Note Blue next door, they usually come in to order cakes when they have special events. It's not much, but it's enough to keep me fed and a roof over my head. That's all that matters, right?" Sari smiled to L again, and L's mind was already working in over drive with not so clean thoughts about Sari.

"Yes, that would seem logical." L mused, his thumb going to his lips as he leveled his gaze on Sari's face.

"Okay, well, like I said, the cake will take about two hours, and I'll give the fancy cut strawberries for free since you're so nice." Sari winked at him and then turned to the counter behind her, already gathering ingredients together to start the cake.

"How much does the cake cost?" L was trying to make this transaction seem as normal as possible, but he couldn't help the fact that she smelled so good, and that he was interested in her.

"It will be three thousand yen." Sari had a measuring cup held up eye level, leveling off the flour she was measuring out, before dumping the flour into a sifter. She glanced back over her shoulder as she picked the sifter up, her head tilting to the side as she realized Ryuuzaki was still staring at her. She began to pat the sifter, letting the flour sift out into a large bowl.

"If I pay you thirty thousand, would you come to lunch with me instead?" L continued to stare at her. Sari paused mid-sift and blinked. She would have to sell ten cakes to make that much, and that was almost what she made in a single day.

"I…don't know what to say, or if I should be a bit offended or not." Sari smiled again as she went to move a lock of black hair from her face, a smudge of flour finding it's way to above her eyebrow. "You offer me ten time the cost of the cake to have lunch with you. It's an offer that I shouldn't refuse since it would pay my rent for the month, but at the same time, it cheapens the fact that I think you just asked me out on a date, not to mention makes me feel a bit like a call girl."

"I didn't mean it to be like that. I was offering to take you out to lunch, and to pay for any lost revenue that the early closure of your shop would cause you. I apologize if my intentions where that unclear." L fidgeted a moment, biting down on his thumb nail. He wasn't very good at these types of dealings, but it had been too long, and he was in need of human contact. Normally he would have contacted a service, or had taken care of the desire himself, but since he had become interested in the Kira case, his desire for a connection to someone on a much deeper level had become more and more insistent, until he could no longer ignore it. He knew that at any time, if Light found out his real name, his life was in jeopardy and it was the threat of death that made him crave the feel of another human nearby.

"Well, when you put it that way, I would love to accompany you to lunch, even if it is a little weird.." Sari smiled again, wiped her hands down with her apron, and then went to take it off, hanging it on a hook by the door to the back room. "Just let me get my purse and lock up." Sari turned to head into the back room, and L stepped forward and grabbed her wrist. Sari jerked her arm back, and turned defensively. L readied himself for the slap that he was 50% certain would come next, and turned Sari back to face him. He reached up and wiped the flour she had on her face away.

"I am fairly certain that you'd not mind, but .." L showed Sari his thumb, and the flour trace there, and Sari relaxed noticeably. "I thought you might not have known it was there."

"No, I didn't. Thank you." Sari reached under the curtain of the door to the back room and grabbed her keys and her purse, before turning back to L. He still hadn't let her go yet. Sari cleared her throat, and L finally let her arm go.

"Sorry." L turned and stuck his hands in his jean pockets, before walking outside the door of the store. Sari followed him, turning over the open sign to read closed, and then locking the door. "So, what around here is good?"

"I know of a little café around the corner that serves the best pasta in town." Sari inclined her head to the south side of the street, and she and L began to walk to the café. They reached the café in a few minutes, easy banter continuing between them. Sari found it extremely easy to speak with L, only because she was hyper aware of human nature any more, and she was some what expectant of his intentions.

"May I take your drink order?" A server had somehow materialized beside their table, and Sari stopped mid sentence, looking up at the younger woman.

"I'll have a coffee and the ravioli plate please." Sari looked over to L and then blushed. She should have let him order first. L stared at the server for a moment, and then voiced his order.

"Coffee as well, and a slice of what ever pie you have please." Sari realized then that L loved sweets. Sari smiled to herself and then continued what she was saying.

"Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever seen you in the store before. Yet you ordered something you wouldn't normally order from a shop like mine unless you had had the strawberry cake before. How did you know to order it?"

"Watari is the face and name you would know. He does most of the shopping for me." L supplied to Sari as their coffee was placed before them, along with a carafe full of the steaming liquid. A slice of cherry pie was set in front of L and then a plate with five round raviolis in front of Sari.

"An older gentleman? Always arrives in a grey limo?" Sari asked, taking a bite of the ravioli.

"Yes, that would be Watari." L said quietly as he sipped his coffee, his eye brows raising as he realized there was no sugar at all in the coffee yet. He reached over for the sugar bowl and started to drop sugar cubes one at a time in his coffee. Sari fell silent as she continued eating, watching L fix his coffee. Lots of sugar and no cream. Sari herself took her coffee with some cream, but mostly sugar as well. Watching him fix his coffee, Sari continue to eat. L took the silence as time to reflect on what was happening, and continued to keep silent while Sari ate. He knew that he didn't like to talk all the way through a meal, well, when he actually had a real meal. L raised his eyes up to Sari's face, watching her eat. He was making sure that Sari didn't have an episode. He had studied on her disease some before he had approached her, so he would know how to react if something happened. He was making sure that she wasn't having trouble swallowing her food, when he noticed that she was near finishing her plate and he hadn't even touched his pie. He probably wouldn't either. He was fairly sure that this café wasn't serving her goods, and so he wasn't interested in their pie. It wouldn't be good enough to his standards.

Sari finished the plate of ravioli in front of her, her stomach finally full after a wonderful lunch. Sari wiped her mouth with her napkin and then laid it beside the plate. L watched her from his side of the table, a cup of coffee held between his hands. He hadn't really spoken much while she ate, preferring to study her in silence.

"Thank you." Sari finally said, picking up her own cup of coffee and leaning back in her seat. She blew on the coffee a moment before sipping it, testing to see if it needed more cream or sugar. "It's not often that I actually go out for a meal, and I usually don't get real food either. Cakes or something sweet, or fruit. Ravioli is a treat." Sari smiled and sipped her coffee again, before clearing her throat. L set his own cup down then, leaning forward over the table a bit.

"I would very much enjoy doing this again." Was all he said, before leaning back again, picking up his coffee and returning to his silence. He was satisfied now that her body spray was tropical, and was certainly coconuts and banana. He wanted to taste her skin to see if she tasted as good as she smelled.

"I wouldn't mind.." Sari blushed, leading L to raise an eyebrow in surprise.

"Really?"

"Really, this has been quiet enjoyable, and I rarely get a day off to just…do, anything, really." Sari blushed again, looking out the window as several people walked by. A tall youth with bright auburn hair, and a laughing companion with black. They looked like they where enjoying any other Saturday out in Aoyama, just like every other young person in the town. Sari looked back over to L, as the high school student three tables over from them got up and left.

"I, too, find that I rarely get the opportunity to enjoy going anywhere. I have an idea. Do you like water?" L asked, setting his cup back down. "Would you be interested in accompanying me down to Omaezaki for the day tomorrow?" It was springtime and the shore there would be cool, but not horribly so.

"I don't know. I don't know if I can keep up with all my bills with shutting the store for two days straight." Sari bit her lower lip weighing her options. Two days of having the store shut would be around ten thousand yen lost to taking two days off. While not enough to break her, she did have her savings, it was enough to make her worry.

"Don't worry about your store. I will make sure that everything is covered for you to take a much needed day off." L flagged down a server and asked for their check, and it was only then that Sari realized they had been speaking in English the entire time. She smiled brightly then.

"Alright, I guess a day at the shore couldn't hurt." L nodded, and took another sip of his coffee.

"Good, I will make arrangements then. I know I am asking a lot from you, and I thank you for not slapping me for it."

"Arrangements? What do you mean by arrangements? I thought this was a spur of the moment deal," Sari stared at L for a long moment, trying to figure out what he meant.

"Machado Joseph disease can often times leave you in distress, I only wish to make sure that you will be comfortable if something happens," L said quietly, staring down at his coffee cup. Sari bristled noticeably.

"Ryuuzaki, what do you do for a living? Are you a doctor, or a geneticist? Are you here because of my disease?" Sari's hands clenched into fists, her hair falling down over her eyes. "I have to tell you, I often have this same situation with doctors and researchers who lull me in trying to do studies on me because I'm such a "rare specimen and in need of being examined while there's still time". If you're one of them, you need to leave now."

"No, I am a detective. I did a background check on you before I started patronage of your store. It was important to me to find someone who needed help to help sate my hunger for cake." The server arrived then and laid the check before L, and he pulled several thousand yen from his pocket to pay. He paused, waiting before continuing. "Believe me, if it wasn't for the cakes you make, I would have never visited the store to begin with. And if it was your disease I was interested in, I would have stopped at ordering the cake today and not have bothered with asking you out to lunch."

"I'm sorry. It's just that.." Sari began, before clenching her fists again.

"It's just that you don't know if you have a year or twenty years left to your life and you don't want to waste time with games." L supplied, knowing the feeling all to well. He had recently been mulling over the same issues, not knowing if his life was going to end tomorrow, or thirty years from now, depending on if Light learned his real name. "The line of work I am in, I under stand the feelings behind that uncertainty, and am simply looking for a kindred spirit who understands as well."

"Thank you." Tears began to form in the corners of Sari's eyes as she bit back the fear of dying. It was true, she didn't know if tomorrow would be her last day or not. The worst thing about her disease was that it left her mind intact while her body would begin to cripple and shut down on her. She would be locked in a body that wouldn't respond to the simplest of commands, and then soon, she would just die as the cells in her brain deteriorated past the point to run even her lungs. L reached out a hand attentively, and then finally took one of hers, squeezing her hand softly. Sari picked her napkin up with her other hand and swiped furiously at her tears. "I thought I was over this. The fear. But I guess that never goes away."

"Let's get out of here." L said, standing up and offering an arm to Sari. Sari nodded, standing and taking L's arm, as he lead her out of the restaurant. A grey limo pulled up to the curb and L helped Sari slip inside, L climbed in next to her, and then the limo slid down the street south out of town. "Watari, take us to Omaezaki please." Sari sat up then, ready to protest. She needed to finish closing the store, she needed to get a change of clothes, and her credit card from her desk. L squeezed her hand once more, bringing Sari's attention back to him.

"I have things I need to do first.." She said meekly.

"Didn't I say that I would take care of everything you'd need?"

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**Well, that's it, my first attempt at fanfiction. I hope you enjoy. Please drop me a review and critique. I'm currently dabbling in fanfiction in an attempt to better my writing skills for a book I've been wanting to write for years.**


	2. Chapter 2

Sari sat in the sand, L beside her, her eyes focused on the setting sun over the water. Sari bit her lower lip and held her hand out to him. L nodded, taking her hand in his, before finally pulling Sari into a tight hug. They had arrived there at the shore around an hour before, and had been sitting on the beach since, in silence as they both reflected on their own mortality.

"I'm trying hard not to be scared." Sari finally breathed. She was still crying, only silently now. Even with L's arms wrapped around her, she couldn't help not crying. She hadn't had any signs of an on coming attack lately, but she knew all too well that the symptoms of her disease showed up rapidly, and left her in bed for days at a time.

"You're doing very well." L answered her back, still holding on to her trembling shoulders.

"When I was first diagnosed, I was scared all the time, and angry. I lost a lot of friends because they didn't know what to do, or how to act around me. They treated me like a walking corpse, they where always so careful about everything. And I don't want that, I don't want any one's pity now, I just want.." Sari clenched her teeth together, fighting for the words. "Some days, I just want to hurry up and die so it's over with."

"That would be irresponsible and selfish."

"I know. I figured that out years ago." Sari sat up then, wiping at her eyes again. She should have worn waterproof mascara today. "I just wish I had more people to confide in. And thank you, for listening, I mean."

"Thank you, for allowing me to spend the day with you." L stood up then, and Sari almost gasped from how cold she felt with out his arms around her, and she blushed furiously. Maybe it was just because someone was showing interest in her, and wasn't bothered by the fact that she may go into convulsions at any moment, or maybe it was because L was as strange as she was.

"Does it.." Sari paused, going to get up. She was going to ask him if their day had to end, if he would have to go back to his job. She really wanted to ask him more, maybe to spend the night with her, to sleep with her, to keep the nightmares away. L held his hand down for her, to help her up.

"No." L continued to stare at the sunset as the last rays seemed to slip under the water. Sari took his hand, allowing him to help her up.

"I understand." Sari's cheeks blushed bright red again as L started to walk back to the street, where Watari waited with the limo. Sari looked out at the darkening sky, and then followed.

"Watari has stocked the refrigerator with several things we may need tomorrow. A picnic, and then some sweets. You are welcome to any thing in there." L held the door of the hotel room opened for Sari as she stepped inside. She looked around, noting there was a laptop and a full pot of coffee waiting. She nodded and then looked down at the shopping bag she held. After the beach, L had taken her shopping for a nightgown and clothes for tomorrow.

"Thank you again. I'm going to go get ready for bed." Sari smiled at him, and then disappeared into the bedroom, then the bathroom within, locking the door. L hear water running after a moment, and then the smell of coconuts and bananas coming from the bathroom. L stared at his laptop for a moment, and then went to get himself a cup of coffee.

'Well, I've come this far.." L thought to himself as he hit the on button of his laptop, allowing the wireless network to connect, and then he started the virtual private network to his case files, beginning his work for the evening. He was still reviewing the files he had gathered on Kira, and would probably remain to do so until dawn. A little after nine am he would wake Sari, and then he would take her to the beach again, let her enjoy the day as much as possible. For some odd reason, he understood her fears all too well, and wanted to make sure that the last part of her life was as enjoyable as possible. L perched in his chair and started to click through the documents. The smell of banana and coconut was overpowering to him suddenly as he tried to think of anything else. Several minutes went by as he stared at the screen of his laptop, wondering what to do next. He usually didn't like to even think about bodily contact, but he felt inclined to be near someone. Sari would be the closest he could get to someone and have his sanity still intact. Of course, he was running the risk of having her fall in love, or worse, die on him. The screen on his laptop went to the screen saver, and L leaned back, holding his coffee cup in both hands. Did he really want to go through with this? Did he really want Sari to be here, to run the risk of involving her in the Kira case, to run the risk of having Light find out and kill her?

She was already dying, so having Light find out and kill her wouldn't be the main concern. It would be painful for her, but did she really want to die locked knowingly in her body as it slowly gave out on her? Did he want her to become attached to him, so it would be more painful for her when she did finally pass? L had called her irresponsible and selfish in her desire to die earlier in the day, but was he being any less irresponsible or selfish in taking her here, or making sure that her shop was covered while they where at the shore? He was being selfish. He had chosen her specifically so that if he died while investigating Kira, that there wouldn't be someone around for too long mourning if they became attached to him. Of course, again, it was selfish to leave her with the last part of her life mourning him, if she did become attached and he died. L set his coffee cup down on the table and pushed his chair back from the desk.

"Sari?"

The water in the bathtub started to drain, and L heard Sari getting out of the tub and moving about in the bathroom. A few moments later, the door to the bathroom opened and she stepped out. Sari had her hair wrapped in a soft towel, and she was dressed in the nightgown she had purchased.

"You called for me?" She asked, blushing, as she pulled a bathrobe from the back of the bathroom door and pulled it over her nightgown.

"I am about to be very verbose, because I believe that I have intentions towards you that you need to be aware of, and need to understand." L moved to a chair in the bedroom, perching again, as Sari sat down on the edge of the bed. She pulled her knees up to her chest, hugging them close.

"You already said no. I don't see how you could have been any more clear." Sari let her eyes adjust to the darkened room, the only light filtering in now from the light in the bathroom.

"I said no to the fear getting any easier. I didn't say no to anything more." L clarified. His big toes overlapped one another as he stared at his knees. "We are young, and we are both faced with something that we don't want to face. Earlier today I told you I was a detective. I am a detective working on the Kira case. If I am found out, I will die, as Kira is making sure that anyone trying to catch him is eliminated. You are dying from a disease your parents passed to you through their genes. While I understand it is not the same, please understand that we are both facing a death sentence. Mine may be a few more months, or never, your's is more definite. A few months to a few years. It is because of these facts that I am craving human contact, as I am quiet sure you do as well." L paused, and Sari started to talk.

"I don't.." L raised a hand to stop her.

"Please let me finish. This is already hard enough on me, trying to speak to another human, let alone a female in a non-working way. I am no good at this.."

"I understand." Sari hugged her legs tighter to her chest then, sighing loudly.

"No, I don't think you do, but I will try and explain."

"Let me explain something to you Ryuuzaki, and before you stop me, you shut the hell up and listen. I'm dying, and my body wants sex. There's no denying it, and I've stopped being embarrassed about it a long time ago. When you get told you're going to die, you deny it, and then when acceptance finally comes, you start to crave things you never craved before. I crave for someone to touch me, to have sex with me because it wipes out the fear and the loneliness if only for a little while. Today on the beach, someone walked by with a cigarette, and I have never wanted to smoke before, but today, when that gentleman walked by I wanted a cigarette so bad it hurt." L stood quickly and disappeared out the bedroom, grabbing something from the dining room and then returning. He handed Sari an ash tray, a book of matches and a box of cigarettes. She stared at him, confusion written all over her face.

"You tensed, and your eyes dilated when the man walked by. I picked them up when you where shopping in the clothing store. I didn't know for certain if you smoked or not." L explained. Sari opened the box, lit a match, and then lit the cigarette, holding it between her fingers as she'd seen people do before. She coughed violently as she breathed out the smoke.

"It's not like it's going to kill me any faster." She spoke as she breathed in again. For some reason, it felt comforting to hold the cigarette, and she knew then why people became so addicted to the habit. "I am keenly aware of the reason you walked into the store today. It became more apparent over lunch." Sari took another drag off the cigarette she was holding, and then moved the cigarette to tap the ash into the ashtray.

"I just wanted you to know, and to also understand my intentions up front. It is not my intention to mislead you in any way, and should anything happen, I want you to also understand that I am not doing this because you're dying. I am not doing this out of pity, or out of any thing other than desire to be near another human. If that is acceptable to you, I wish to close your store for an extended time, everything will be taken care of. I also wish to place you in an apartment closer to where my investigation is taking place. If it is at all possible, I want to give you a small gift of comfort, even if it is for only a short time."

"This is all acceptable to me. I would ask one thing.." Sari said after several moments.

"What is that?"

"That I can still bake cakes for you."

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

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Sari was asleep in the car as they returned to Aoyama to gather a few of her things. L had found an apartment building close to the headquarters where he was investigating Kira. He had no problems securing a furnished one bedroom apartment, and he had already had Watari stock the cabinets with food and appliances so Sari could continue her baking. He had also made sure to get a laptop and a television for the apartment. A credit card with no limit was being mailed to the apartment in a few days time. He had made sure that Sari had enough money to decorate as she saw fit in the mean time, and a car would be delivered to the apartment garage in the morning. While she had slept last night, L had been busy with all the arrangements needed. He hadn't told her yet, but he had put in process the sale of her store. Even if Sari would be mad about this, L was certain that it would be better for her to allow him to care for her expenses for what was left of her life, and surprising to himself, he was ready to make sure she was set up to have a comfortable rest of her life, even if she should live for the next thirty years. The limo slid to a stop in front of her current apartment building, and L turned to wake Sari.

"Sari, we've arrived." He said quietly, as he went to brush her hair out of her face. Sari's eyes opened slowly, as she turned her face into his hand, L hesitated for a moment, and then cupped her face with his hand. "Wake up Sari, we need to get your things.." Sari woke with a start then, sitting up in her seat, blushing again.

"Right. I'll be right back." Sari went to open the car door, and L grabbed her wrist.

"I'll come with you." Sari turned back to face him, her blue eyes meeting his dark ones for a moment, before she looked away and nodded.

"Alright." Sari opened the car door and stepped out onto the side walk, as L slipped his feet into his sneakers and then followed. Sari paused a moment on the stairs up to the front door of her apartment building, searching her keychain for the correct key. She slid the key into the lock and then let them both in. Once they where in the lobby of the building, Sari lead them to the elevator that would take them to the thirteenth floor where her apartment was. L followed her into the elevator and hummed along with the music as the rode up to the thirteenth floor.

"Here we are," Sari said as she stepped out onto her floor and turned left off the elevator towards her apartment, 1309. Sari chose another key from her keychain and slipped it into the lock, letting herself inside, and then turning. "Please…come in.." She bowed slightly, moving out of the door way to let L enter the apartment.

"Thank you." L muttered quietly as he walked inside. He slipped his shoes off at the door and then walked into what would be the living area of the apartment. He noted the small kitchen, spotless, a small LCD TV and a loveseat instead of a couch. Sari held a hand out to the loveseat.

"Please have a seat while I pack. I'll only be a moment," L nodded and sat down, pulling his knees up to his chest as Sari disappeared into the back part of the apartment, through a beaded curtain to what was partitioned off into her bed room. L watched as she packed a few clothes, a journal, and a Nintendo DS and a few games. A small white cat came bounding out from under the covers on the bed, and jumped up on the loveseat with L.

"Hello kitty.." L whispered as he went to scratch the cats chin. The cat instantly broke into a chorus of purrs at the scratch and moved it's head against L's hand, demanding more attention. "Just like your momma, eh little kitty?"

"Oh…that's D. He seems to like you.." Sari moved the beaded curtain out of her way, and stepped back into the living area, holding the small overnight bag she had just packed. "Would it be alright if I brought him with me?" L had moved to stroking the cat, as D padded back and forth along the other seat of the loveseat, his purring loud enough to make the cushion vibrate. L let a small smile quick the corners of his lips. He had always had a soft spot for cats. They where meticulous little animals, and D had no tail, which made him all the more exotic for him and Sari. England and the States didn't bob cats tails. That and D's distinctive "bunny hop" gait was enough to make anyone smile.

"Your sweater from the other day had cat hair on it. I made arrangements for a pet at your new apartment if you happened to have one." L stood up, and picked up D, handing the cat to Sari. He in turn took the overnight bag from her. "You named him after Hideyuki Kikuchi's character didn't you?"

"I've always loved the story of Vampire Hunter D. Yes. He is named after the character. And he's been my little gentleman for three years now." Sari touched noses with D, and L couldn't help letting a smile pull at the corners of his mouth again.

"We should get going. Is there anything else you'll need from this apartment?" L moved towards the door, opening it and stepping out into the hallway. Sari followed him, letting the door latch shut and lock behind her. She shook her head no.

"Just, I'll need to stop by the store and get him a new litter box and some food." Sari was scratching D's ears now, the cat seeming to be in kitty heaven.

"Did I tell you I would take care of everything?" L asked as they got back on the elevator.

"Yes, I guess you did." Sari answered back.


End file.
